Combined gear shift ball and light signal



Get. 19, 1937. ARMOELLER 2,096,190

COMBINED GEAR SHIFT BALL AND LIGHT SIGNAL Filed March 50, 1936 INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED GEAR SHIFTBALL AND LIGHT SIGNAL Albert R. Moeller, Spokane, Wash.

I Application March 30, 1936, Serial No. 71,554 V 2 Claims. (01.171-311) This invention relatesto a device which serves not only as anilluminated gear shift ball but also as a signal by means of which theillumination of the headlights and the parking lights may 5 be indicatedto the driver of an automobile.

One object of the invention is to so form the device that it may beeasily applied to a gear shift lever of a conventional formation andhave its upper portion illuminated so that when driving at night thelever may be easily located and quickly grasped when it is desired toshift gears.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the bulbs in the ballor knob that by observing which bulbs are illuminated, it can beaccurately determined whether the parking lights are burning and alsowhether the bright or dim filaments of the headlights are in use.

Another object of the invention is to so form the gear shift knob orball that it may have the signaling bulbs mounted therein withoutincreasing its dimensions beyond those of a knob or ball usually usedupon a gear shift lever.

The invention is illustrated in the accompany.. ing drawing wherein:Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved ball.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken vertically. through the ball.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken horizontally through the-ball alongline 3-3 of Figure 1.

The knob or ball is to be applied to the upper end of a gear shift leverI of. an automobile in place of the ball usually provided and has alower section or body' 2 and an upper section or cover 3 which is formedof transparent or translucent material and has threaded engagement withthe body so that it can be removed when necessary. By referring toFigure 2, it will be seen that the cover is arcuate in cross section todispose it in spaced relation to the upper face of the body and thusform a chamber within the knob when the cover is in place. The body isformed of insulating material such as hard rubber and at its lower endis provided with a depending centrally located neck 4 of soft rubberformed with a socket 5 whichis normally of somewhat less diameter thanthe lever so that when the upper portion of the lever is forced into'thesocket a frictional grippingaction will take place and hold the knob inposition. Ribs 0 project upwardly from the flat upper face of the bodyand diverge from the center thereof as shown in Figure 3, so that theupper face of the body will be divided into three arcuate sections ofequal dimensions. At the center of each section of the body, a socket orshell .1 is embedded in the body to receive an electric bulb, the bulbsand a top of light penetrable material detachnably carried by said bodyand adapted to enclose being individually indicated by theinumerals I,

9 and It as they are of contrasting colors such as a blue bulb 8, agreen bulb 9 and a red bulb ll, and serve as signals to indicate thecondition of the headlights and the parking lights as well as 5 toilluminate the knob and permit the operator of the automoible to easilylocate the gear shift lever when driving at night. Centerterminals ofthe socket I are grounded to the gear shift" lever by the wire l3,whichextends into the lever receiving socket, as shown in Figure 2.Since the neck having the leverreceiving socket therein isformed of softrubber which grips the lever, a good contact will be assured between thewire l3 and the lever and a good ground estab- 15 lished. The bulbs willbe mounted in a conventional illuminating circuit wherein the bulbs areprovided with a common ground wire it and each has cooperating relationto a companion bulb of the parking light or headlight. r

I have, therefore, provided an improved knob which may be easily appliedto a gear shift lever in lieu of the one initially provided and soconstructed that it will not only be illuminated and easy to locate, butalso'serve as a signal to indicate whether the parking lights areburning or whether the headlights are burning bright or dimmed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is;

1. A gear shift lever knob comprising a body of hard insulating materialhaving a depending neck of elastic material, the neck being formed witha socket to receive the upper portion of a lever and frictionally gripthe lever,-bulb receiv- 35 ing sockets carried by the body of hardinsulating material and having a ground wire entering the socket of theneck in :position for engaging a lever about which the elastic neckflts,

bulbs carried by the bulb receiving sockets.

2. A gear shift lever knob comprising a body formed of hard insulatingmaterial and having a depending hollowneck of elastic material-open 45at its lower end' and adapted to fit about and grip a gear shift lever,bulb receiving sockets embedded in the upper face of the body of hardinsulating material, ribs rising from the upper face of the body betweensaid sockets, and a cap 50 of light penetrable material detachablyapplied to the body over the same in enclosing relation to the bulbreceiving sockets, the cap being arcuate upwardly in cross section toprovide a bulb receiving chamber between the body, and the 5 cap. 4

ALBERT R. M0 7

